LESSON 10 March 1-7
"Fight the good fight of faith, lay
hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art
also called, and hast professed a good
profession before many witnesses"
(1 Tim. 6:12).
Paul, writing to Timothy (whom he
calls a "man of God" in verse 11),
urges the young minister to keep
well away from the practices of the
world. In the world, he says, is a
rejection of the teachings of Christ
(verse 3). People argue about issues
far from the truth (verse 5). They love
money, and in pursuit of it some will
hesitate at nothing. Consequently,
they cause themselves and others
much suffering (verse 10). By
contrast, the man of God is to follow
after "righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, patience, meekness"
(verse 11).
The member of the church differs
from the man in the world in that his
interests and goals are entirely
different. In this lesson we look at
some of those differences.
First of all, the primary concern of
the Christian is to be an effective
witness for his Lord. This arises
naturally out of his experience. God
has been so good to him that he gives
glory to God at all times and in every
circumstance.
He
shows that the
service of God brings untold
blessings. He does not have to be a
skilled preacher in order to witness.
He does not have
to know the Bible
as a scholar. All he needs to do is to
testify to what he has seen and heard.
Remember, the blind man whom
Jesus healed said simply to the
Jewish leaders, "Whereas I was
blind, now I see" (John 9:25). There
is no stronger witness than that
which comes from personal
experience.
The member of the church is a
diligent student of the Word. He
knows that the Word of God is his
life, and he studies it every day. He
shares with others the truths he has
learned. The Bible is the light that
keeps him from error and the truth
that saves him from all heresies.
The Christian must be concerned
about his health. He knows that his
body is the temple of the Holy Spirit;
therefore he seeks to keep it free of
all defilement—physical and moral.
Certain meats he knows to be
unclean according to the Scripture;
so he avoids eating them. He also
avoids beverages that stimulate his
nerves unnecessarily or cause him to
lose full control of his senses. He
shuns the drugs used by many to
escape reality, for his life is dedicated
to God and His service.
As a citizen of the world, the
Christian knows he has obligations
to his government and nation. He
knows that God has ordained
authorities to maintain peace and
order. He is law-abiding and
responsible. He realizes that only
when the requirements of men
infringe on the laws of God must he
insist on recognizing the higher
authority. (See Acts 5:29.)
The Christian is more concerned
about the welfare of others than
about his own interests. Thus his life
is one of blessing to others. Children
need to be brought up in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord. The
poor need to be provided with the
necessities of life. Strangers and
members of the church need to be
shown hospitality. He imitates his
Master in going about doing good.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
1.
Witnessing for Christ
(Mark 16:15)
2.
Studying the Word
(Acts 17:11)
3.
Caring for the Body
(1 Cor. 16:19)
4.
Loyalty to Authorities
(Rom. 13:1)
5.
Caring for Widows and Orphans
(James 1:27)
6.
Training the Youth
(Prov. 22:6)